The field of this invention relates to a washing and drying apparatus for utensils, and more specifically to an automatic washing and drying apparatus for pipets.
Pipets are in common use in medical laboratories and other types of laboratories. One way in which a pipet is used is in the performing of blood tests. The pipet is used to remove precise volumetric amounts from a reagent or sample to then be transferred to a vial which contains certain substances for performing certain types of tests. Once the pipet has been used, it is normally set aside to be washer prior to its next usage.
Most pipets are constructed of glass. In order to prevent the possibility of contamination both to the user and the test reagents, the washing procedure for the pipets is quite extensive. The pipets are usually first soaked in a mild acid solution for a certain period of time, such as thirty minutes to one hour. A desirable type of acid solution would be sulfuric acid dichromate.
The normal procedure for washing pipets is to accumulate a substantial number (a days supply) and manually place the pipets within a container full of the acid solution. After the pipets have soaked for a reasonable period of time, the acid solution is drained and then the pipets are washed several times in tap water and then finally rinsed in deionized water. The pipets are then removed from the container and placed in an area to dry. It is not at all uncommon for the entire washing and drying procedure to take a period of several hours. In other words, within the laboratory, it is required that a single individual take three to four hours of time to properly wash and dry the pipets that have been used during the previous day.
There has long been a need to design an automatic washing and drying apparatus for pipets which would eliminate the hazardous and time consuming chore of washing and drying pipets. It is essential that pipets are scrupulously clean due to the possible health hazards associated with the testing of body fluids and common laboratory reagents.